Showing posts with label Wool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wool. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

2012 A Scrappy Year


Do you ever look back at a year
and wonder where it went
and if you
accomplished anything?
2012 feels kind of like a blur
it sped by so fast.

As far as
quilty things
I was feeling a little concerned
that I had much more starts than finishes.
It helped to go through my pictures
to remember I actually did
finish a few things.
Tell me if you see a theme here?
Farmers Wife Quilt Along
50 blocks
all from my scraps.
 Modern Chevron Baby Quilt
that I pulled from my blue and cream scraps.
a gift for a special friend :)
 Festive Cheer
A great project to use up
some of my red and green scraps.
 I did get all of the sections pieced together
but, I'm still working on hand appliqueing
the 60 circle centers.
 Great Granny
I loved being part of Lori Holt's quilt along
and using up some of those bright and happy scraps.
 Wild Thing
a quilt for a grand daughter.
 Oh My Stars
a guild challenge quilt
which helped me use up
even more scraps!
Yes, the theme for 2012
was
USE WHAT YOU HAVE!
 I did make a few other projects other than quilts.
A crocheted Chevron Afghan
for my daughter.
 A few wool projects that were gifts
 and charity auction donations.
 and matching pajama pants
for the grandbabies and their stuffed animals.
 In 2012 I joined
several Block of The Month
projects yet to be completed
My New Word I've selected for
2013
is
FINISH!
 It's been so fun to be a Bee's Knees member
 and to make blocks each month
for someone special.
And I'm really looking forward to seeing
what Lori will reveal
for the next rows
on her
Row Along
2013 here we come!


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Wool Leaf Table Runner

 Years ago I used to
spend a lot of
time
hand dying
beautiful
wools.

I felt a little like
a chemist
as I gathaered dye pots
in the kitchen.
I was always
curious to see how each piece of
wool would absorb the dye,
 leaving sections
mottled
and unique.
 I recently found some of those
leftover pieces of wool
and gathered them together
for a
Leaf Table Runner
 Falling leaves in colors
of golds
greens, purples, reds
and orange,
 hand stitched
with pearl cotton to
a black wool background.
Decorative tongues
outlined in a blanket stitch.
For the backing, I used a
cotton quilting weight fabric
that continued with a
leaf motif.
One more
Christmas present
 finished and
ready to be wrapped.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Wool Penny Rug

 The Nimble Thimbles Quilt Guild is hosting their annual Small Quilt Auction next Tuesday night.
As members, we are asked to make small quilt items.
We can donate small quilts, table runners, purses or craft items.
This is our Fund Raiser for the year, and it's a really fun event for all.
 I chose to make a Wool Penny Rug for my donation.
I haven't worked much with wool in the last few years, and it was fun to pull out an old pattern and put something together.
Penny Rugs originally started in the 1800's around the time of the Civil War.
Coins were used as templates in cutting out scraps of wool, which were joined together with a blanket stitch.
Penny Rugs usually aren't rugs at all, but are more commonly used as table toppers or on dressers and mantles.
I liked the funky folk art chicken motive for the center and backed the piece with quilt fabric.
Hopefully, it will bring a few $$ for the guild.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Pincushion Quilt

Susie Seckel, a member of my guild, has created a wonderful idea!
Wool+Quilts+Pincushions=Pincushion Quilt

Susie shared "Making this quilt was the only way I could showcase all my pincushion designs at once."

For the background Susie used a wool Army blanket.
"Using this single piece of wool fabric eliminated seams" Susie said.
Good thinking(!) and much more affordable than purchasing a large piece of wool.

The original pincushion designs are by Patty Harvey

Completed in 2012
Hand appliqued, hand embroidered, hand quilted.

Susie used #5 Pearl (Perle) cotton for all the embroidery stitches.

"Big Stitch" quilting: #8 Pearl cotton


Susie combined several mediums in her quilt.
Notice the use of embroidery stitches, buttons and other embellishments.
Oh, the possibilities!